Let your freak flag fly, New York!
New York is coming out in a larger-than-life way this Pride Month, unveiling the biggest pride flag in the city’s history on Friday. But it won’t be a traditional cloth flag.
Instead, the normally gray, concrete steps at Roosevelt Island’s Four Freedoms Park will be painted to resemble the iconic rainbow symbol for the gay rights movement. The fitting hashtag: #AscendWithPride.
The location of the massive 12-foot-by-100-foot display of equality is no coincidence either. Four Freedoms State Park was established as a memorial to Franklin D. Roosevelt and his four essential freedoms — freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
The staircase will be presented by FDR’s great-granddaughter, Julia Ireland, who is also a member of the Four Freedoms Park Conservatory’s board of directors.
“I’m inspired by how forward thinking the four freedoms were in 1941, and I would like to think that if my great-grandparents were alive today, they would include LGBTQ+ rights among those for which they advocated and fought,” Ireland told NBC News.
Visitors to the Four Freedom Park’s website will also be greeted with a pop-up explainer about the new installation, including the history of the Stonewall riots as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Greenwich Village uprising.
“As one of the nation’s only monuments dedicated to essential human freedoms, FDR Four Freedoms State Park’s Pride flag installation serves as both a symbol of solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community and a reminder of the collective progress still needed to achieve these four freedoms for all,” reads the website.
Last year, the Venice Beach boardwalk was home to the world’s largest rainbow flag, measuring 1,410 square feet, topping the previous South African record of 1,033 square feet.
New York’s LGBTQ+ festival will also be on a grand scale this year as the host city of World Pride. An estimated 4 million people are expected to attend the activities and parade.
The colorful display will be open at Four Freedoms State Park on Roosevelt Island starting June 15 and will remain on display throughout the month.